Neopolitan Zebra Cheesecake

This fourth of July finds me looking forward to a leisurely day without anything in particular scheduled. Sometimes the lack of a schedule is the best way to spend a holiday. It makes me think of the scene in the Crocodile Dundee movie. You know the one..where the tour guide is talking with Mick Dundee about time. Of course, Mick has no watch and is clueless to what time or even what day it is. Face it, just the idea of anyone leading such a carefree life does make us all jealous.

A lot of people are running around today, getting ready for guests. Since it is sweltering hot outside, a cold dessert can be a delicious escape. This ice cold creamy cheesecake, has a trio of the favorite flavors you find in a Neopolitan.

While this recipe has a lot of flavor to offer, it also includes an instruction for achieving the "artsy" zebra effect. Creating the flavor batters is a snap. The steps required for making the zebra effect requires time, especially if you measure each layer of batter. I initially started by measuring, but soon was pouring the layers without measuring. It turned out with a "zebra" effect, but not with 10 or 15 stripes as would measuring the batter by 1/4 cup increments.

As with any cheesecake, it requires several hours of chilling time prior to serving. Take this into consideration if you intend to make this 9 inch cake.

Neopolitan Zebra Cheesecake
adapted from Something Sweet

Ingredients/Crust
6 tbs melted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar

Ingredients/ Filling
Chocolate Layer:
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Vanilla Layer:
6 tbs flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk

Strawberry Layer:
1/2 cup strawberry puree (derived from 1 cup frozen strawberries, defrosted prior to puree)
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp natural strawberry extract
1/4 cup flour
red food coloring

To make the crust, stir together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the crumbly mixture into a 9 inch springform pan and press evenly, forming a crust in the bottom and up the sides. Place pan in freezer until ready to fill.

For the chocolate layer, add all ingredients to a medium size bowl and beat until blended. Place in refrigerator. Then do the same with the vanilla layer and strawberry layer. The end result is three bowls of batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove crusted springform pan from the freezer. Pour 1/4 cup of the chocolate batter into center of the pan. Follow that with 1/4 of the vanilla batter, pouring it into the center of the chocolate pool of batter. Then do the same with the strawberry batter. Repeat this process until all the batter is in the pan. The end result will be several concentric circles, with hues of white, milk chocolate and pink.

Bake for 55-65 minutes. Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when jiggled and it is no longer shiny. As you can see by the picture, the surface turns a golden brown. Once baked, turn off oven and leave cheesecake inside for about 1 hour. Then remove and place in fridge to chill for at least 3 hours prior to slicing and serving.

Tips and Notes:
1. Cream cheese is a solid mass, so when mixed with the liquids the end result is not a smooth batter. It will be very liquid with lumps of cream cheese. The batter resembles a watery cottage cheese. Even after baked, slices reveal little white dots of cream cheese (as shown in the picture). While it does not affect the taste, this situation does detract a little from the appearance.

2. For a less ivory look to the vanilla layer, try using clear vanilla extract.
                             **LAST YEAR: Key Largo Cupcakes*

Chocolate Babka

I have a confession to make concerning holiday baking. Unlike most people, I do not have a secret stash of recipes that are on reserve for just the holidays. Sometimes special recipes are better received as a surprise than received when expected. Answering that question of "what is this for?" with "just because" always elicits a smile.

Today, I bring you a delicious recipe for chocolate babka. Since there are numerous recipes for this tasty and stunning dessert, I had to go through an evaluation process regarding the filling. After reviewing recipes with brownie bits, cinnamon and streusel, I came to the conclusion that I wanted a rich, dark chocolate filling. After all, this item should be more upscale and different from a coffee cake.

This particular babka recipe was exactly what I was looking for. It has just the right amount of decadent dark chocolate filling with a wonderful crunch of hazelnuts. Also, the Amaretto syrup soak does give the outer edges of babka a delicious texture. Regarding the dough, it actually stems from a donut recipe which lies somewhere between bread and cake.

Most of the time in this recipe is rise time and the chilling process for the dough. It rises 2 hours, chills overnight and then is formed and rises again 2 hours before baking. The recipe is in grams, so if you work in cup measurements, you will need a conversion chart. It makes 2 loaves, using two 5X10 inch loaf pans.

Chocolate Babka
adapted from Violet Bakery

Ingredients/Dough
3 eggs
125 grams butter
120 milliliters warm water
50 grams sugar
1 package yeast
2 tsp sea salt
500 grams flour

Ingredients/Filling
200 grams dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa bar or chips)
60 grams cocoa powder (I used dutch, but since type not specific either is acceptable)
160 grams butter
160 grams brown sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
160 grams finely chopped and toasted hazelnuts

Ingredients/Syrup Soak
160 grams sugar
200 grams water
4 tsp honey
2 tbs Amaretto
pinch of salt

For the dough, you will need a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Pour the yeast in the bowl and whisk in the sugar. Then add the warm water. Let sit for 2 minutes to dissolve and then stir. Sprinkle in the salt and then add the flour in 100 gram increments, running the mixer about 1 minute and scraping down the sides after each addition. Add the eggs, one by one and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Once all the eggs are blended, beat mixture for about 10 minutes on medium speed. While the mixer is running cut the cold butter into cubes.

After the 10 minutes of beating, beat for an additional 10 minutes, this time dropping the cubes of butter into the dough. The end result will be a big ball of dough that has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Pull out a medium size bowl and oil the interior. Transfer the dough to this prepared oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours. Then, eliminate the air in the dough by punching down with your fist. Cover again and place in refrigerator to chill overnight.

The next morning, prepare 2 loaf pans by buttering the interior and lining the bottom and long sides with parchment paper. Set aside.

Now it is time to make the second component of this dessert. With the exception of the hazelnuts and salt, place all the filling ingredients in a medium saucepan. Set the saucepan over medium heat and whisk until every thing is melted and blended together. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes.

Prepare a flat surface by lightly dusting with flour.  Divide the dough in half, placing one piece on the flat surface and returning the other piece to the refrigerator. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough on the flat surface into a 12 inch by 12 inch square. Spread half the filling onto the dough, leaving about 1/4 inch border, and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Then sprinkle half of the nuts on top.

Roll the dough up tightly, like a jelly roll with the seam on the bottom. Lightly press the top of the roll to make sure the bottom seam is sealed. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll lengthwise, forming 2-12 inch ropes. Twist the ropes together into one piece and place in prepared pan, folding under the ends. Repeat this process to form the other loaf.

Lightly cover each loaf with plastic wrap and let rise for about 2 hours. During rise time, prepare the syrup soak by putting all the ingredients in a saucepan. Then place over medium high heat and let come to a boil. Remove and stir. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place both loaves in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then check on the loaves to make sure they are not getting too brown on the surface. At this time, you can lightly cover with foil if the loaves have the desired hue. Bake for another 15 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Remove loaves and place on cooling rack and immediately pour half of the syrup over top of each warm babka. Let cool completely before taking out of pan.

Tips and Notes:
1. Do not expect the filling to be smooth after melting everything in the saucepan, mine was grainy but was not that texture after baking the bread.

2. Both doughs should have an even amount of rise time in the last session. Form one into a jelly roll and set aside. Then form the other. Slice each into 2 pieces and then twist each and place in pan. Cover and  set the timer for 2 hours

3. Having the filling exposed to the surface does not harm the flavor of the filling. You can have a toasty bread-like surface or a surface with many threads of chocolate. For the most exposure of chocolate filling, twist each dough log with cut side face up.

4. There is a lot of syrup, but it soaks in quickly, so there is little chance of it running off the sides.
                                        **Last Year: Butternut Cookies** 

Circus Cookies

This post is dedicated to my Dad, the sugar cookie connoisseur of the family. To this day, my Dad can never get enough homemade sugar cookies. Dad, here's hoping that your day is better than expected, filled with lots of love and of course- many sugar cookies! Happy Father's day!

Making these little animals sure did transport me back to the days of childhood. The sweet, yet distinctive smell of homemade cookies filled the house while I peered over the counter to watch as my mom rolled out and cut the dough into different shapes. 

After the cookies came out of the oven, I was ready to eat. I was quickly told that they were not ready to eat. Disappointed, I thought that she made it up as a story to get me to go away, after all, the cookies were baked. Stubbornly, I sat and watched just to see what she was talking about.

Then my mom reached for a big white bag of powder and put several cups in a bowl. She added a few more ingredients and beat it all together. She moved to the cupboard, opened it and pulled out several containers. Some of the containers held brightly colored sugar and some had a rainbow of colored grain-like looking things in them. I curiously watched the artwork unfold as my mom iced and decorated the cookies.

This was the first indication to me that there was way more to baking than just making something that tastes good.

This particular recipe has its pros and cons in preparation, but these crisp little cookies have a almond-vanilla flavor that is unbeatable. Also, the almond bark coating is a must if you want the exact replica of the circus cookies that you find in the pink bag at the grocers. Note that the cookie dough must chill at least 8 hours, so allow for this time. The recipe makes about 4 dz little cookies. Be sure to read the tips at the end.

Circus Cookies
adapted from the Cooking Channel

Ingredients
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup of butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 lb almond bark or white chocolate coverture
sprinkles for decorating

Start the night before (or 9 hours prior to baking) by making the dough. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat together until fluffy and light in color. Add the extracts and egg to the mixture and blend on low speed with the mixer. Stop in increments to scrape down the sides. Once all is blended, fold in the sifted ingredients.

Shape the dough into a flat disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours or overnight.

When the dough is done chilling, preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator.  Prepare a flat surface by dusting with flour and dust a rolling pin as well.

Take a piece of dough (about 1/4 of the mass) and place on flat surface. Re-cover the remaining dough and place in freezer. Remove 1 baking sheet from refrigerator.

Roll out the dough on the flat surface to a 1/8 inch thickness. The dough will be very soft and has a tendency to stick. Be generous on the flour. If the dough sticks to the flat surface, dust the top of the dough and use a bench scraper to scrape off and flip the dough. Dust again and roll out to proper thickness. Dip the cutting part of the cookie cutter in flour and cut out one shape. Keeping the dough in the cutter, move the cutter over the baking sheet and lightly press dough out of the cutter onto the sheet. Repeat process until baking sheet is filled and put filled baking sheet in freezer.

Continue rolling and cutting the dough until all is formed into shapes and placed on a baking sheet. Remove one sheet from the freezer to the oven. Bake until cookies have golden edges. Cookies take about 12-13 minutes to bake. Remove from oven and let cool for about 2 minutes then transfer to rack to finish cooling. Bake the rest of the cookies as instructed above.

For the icing, melt the coverture or almond bark in a double boiler. Once melted, you can ice the cookies by using a knife or dipping them.  If you choose to dip them, make sure you have a sheet of wax paper on a flat surface in order to place the dipped cookie on. If you just choose to ice the top, they can be placed back on the cooling rack . After dipping or frosting about 4 of the cookies, decorate with sprinkles if desired. Continue with the process until all cookies are iced/dipped.

Before storing, make sure that icing has set/hardened on the cookies.

Tips and Notes:

1. The emphasis on the amount of flour when rolling and the butter to flour ratio in this recipe, had me concerned so I added 1/4 cup more of flour when making the dough.

2. The cookies came out thin and crisp, but the icing seemed to be too heavy for the cookie. If I made these again, I would adjust for a thicker cookie.

3. I like more cookie than icing, so I did not dip the whole cookie in the icing. The top or half dipped is fine for a good icing to cookie ratio.

4. I was expecting a thinner consistency of the almond bark, but remembered that it is considered as a candy coating rather than icing.

                                       **LAST YEAR: Pesto Potato Rolls**
 

Pineapple & Spice Cupcakes

I think sometimes that the health industry has gone too far.  Especially in the area of supplements/pills that you can take that have healthy benefits. I am not sure of whatever happened to actually eating something natural as opposed to taking a pill.

As I strolled through the "healthy supplement" aisle at the drug store, I saw cinnamon pills. Maybe I am wrong, but I do not think there are a lot of people that hate the taste of cinnamon. Think about it: cinnamon toast, cinnamon rolls. Yes, doesn't just the thought make you want to take a cinnamon pill instead? I think not. I also saw cardamom pills.

Today's recipe contains cardamom. It is one of the many wonderful spices brought to us by India that has lots of health benefits. I imagine right now in southern India, there is someone looking across their backyard which is filled with wild cardamom. Most of us are not so lucky and actually have to pay to have some of the same.

So, for these special cupcakes,we start with a base of cardamom cake. After that, I have added a pineapple curd filling. Then topped them off with a frosting that has a unique blend of goat cheese and butter nut flavoring. Since you are not here to taste these, I will give you the run down of what your taste buds are missing.... first you taste a lightly spiced cake. Then there is a pop of the tart flavor of pineapple. After that comes the frosting, which is tangy but is followed by a chaser of nutty flavor. If you are unfamiliar with butternut, I think it tastes about like Frangelico liqueur. The last part your taste buds experience is the crunchy walnuts on top. Enough said, so lets head to the kitchen!

Pineapple & Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients/ Pineapple Curd
adapted from Alaska From Scratch

1/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
pinch of salt
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs butter
1 cup of strained pineapple puree

Ingredients/Cardamom Cupcakes (makes about 20-22 cupcakes)
adapted from Chowhound

3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks butter
2 egg whites
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups sugar

Ingredients/Goat Cheese Frosting
from Flourtrader

6 oz goat cheese (room temp)
2 tbs milk
1 tsp butternut flavoring
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter (room temp)
1/2 -3/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts

Start by making the pineapple curd. Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium size bowl. Then sift in the cornstarch and stir. Add the pineapple puree and the sugar. Mix together and empty into a mid-size saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly. As it heats up, it will thicken. Once your spoon leaves a streak in the bottom of the pan, it is done cooking. It will be as thick as custard. Remove from heat and add butter. Stir until the butter is melted into the mixture. Let cool to room temp, empty into bowl and cover. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

For the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the top edge of 12 muffin cavities of a muffin tin(s) and place paper liner in each cavity.

In a small bowl, sift together baking powder, flour, cardamom and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream together by beating for about 3 minutes, taking a moment or two to scrape down the sides. Mixture should be fluffy and pale.

Add one egg white and beat for 30 seconds. In separate intervals, repeat the process with the remaining egg whites and each egg. Once completed, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then beat again, this time on low. As you continue to beat, add the extract and then slowly stream in the milk. The end result will be a curdled-looking batter.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold the sifted ingredients into the batter. Then fill the lined cavities with the batter, using an ice cream scoop or spoon. The cavities should be about 2/3 full. Place tins in oven and bake for 8 minutes, rotate and bake for an additional 8-12 minutes more, or when tester comes out clean.

After baking, place tins on rack for about 2 minutes to cool. Then take cupcakes out of tin and place on rack to completely cool.

As they cool, you will make the frosting. Place the goat cheese and the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the milk and butternut flavoring and beat again for 10 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides, then repeat the process 2 more times. Lastly, you will add the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup intervals, beating to combine and scraping down the sides at each interval until all the powdered sugar is combined into the dairy frosting.

To assemble, use a pairing knife and core out a hole in the center of your cupcakes. Then fill a piping bag (coupled with a large tip) with the pineapple curd and fill each cupcake. Once all the cupcakes are filled, frost the cakes as desired and sprinkle with toasted walnuts. Now they are ready to serve.

Tips and Notes:

1. Regarding the pineapple puree, it took about 3/4 of a peeled, cored, chopped pineapple to make 1 cup. The pineapple was pureed in a blender and pressed through a sieve.

2. I had some left over after making the cakes. I consider the curd the best part of the cupcakes, so I easily found a use for the rest of it. You can also put a layer of curd on top of the cupcakes before frosting to use all of it up.

2. The recipe states that the batter makes 2 dozen. Mine, when filling the cavities as instructed came out to make 20.

3. These are not fancy, decorated cupcakes. However, if you desire something more like that, add more confectioners sugar to the frosting to get it thick enough to pipe onto the cupcakes. Of course you also will have to increase the recipe ingredients.

4. I used the Lorann brand of flavoring, which is much stronger than the regular flavoring so you will need to add more if using another brand.

5. Do not overbeat when adding the milk and extract, this will put more air into the batter and makes for a flatter cupcake.
                                      **LAST YEAR:Pecan Cream Cups**

Mojito Bars

There are many stories of how the mixed drink the Mojito came about. The one that I chose to believe is that it started in Cuba as a way to curb the harshness of straight rum. However, even without the rum, the blend of lime and mint is nothing but tropical and refreshing.

These bars mimic that wonderful flavor. There is the tartness of the lime and the butter pecan flavor of the crust, followed by a subtle cooling mint. The little squares are just the thing to pull out of the fridge when you need a break from the hot, humid weather.

Mojito Bars
adapted from State Fair Recipes

Ingredients/Crust
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup or 2 sticks butter (room temp)
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup flour

Ingredients/Filling
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 tbs mint (snipped into fine pieces)
2 tbs key lime zest
2 tbs milk
1/4 cup rum (optional)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
Powdered sugar and mint leaves (for topping)

Prepare a 9x13 inch baking pan by lining the interior with foil, leaving some over hang on the longest sides. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, pulse together the nuts, sugar and flour in a food processor. Then cut the butter into 1/4
inch cubes. Drop the butter cubes into the dry mix and process until mixture forms a mixture that can be compressed into a dough.

Empty dough into prepared pan and press down, evenly covering the bottom interior of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork to keep crust from bubbling up when baking. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

During the baking process, the filling is to be made. Start by sifting together the baking powder, flour and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients (less the items listed for topping). Then stir in the sifted ingredients.

Once the crust is baked, remove and pour the filling mix into the pan. Place pan back in oven and bake until edges start to brown. The bake time is 20-25 minutes.

Place pan on rack to cool completely. To serve, lift foil edges and pull out of pan. Pull foil away from sides of bars. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar and mint leaf (if desired).

Store bars in refrigerator until ready to serve.
                          **LAST YEAR: Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffeecake**

Strawberry Hazelnut Tart

I recently realized that when I bake with fruit, I really do not mix them into one baked item. This preference can be limiting, especially when it comes to berries. There are lots of recipes that have strawberries as a single fruit, but they are cold desserts. That is why when I came across this recipe for a baked strawberry tart, I had to make it.

There are other things that make this dessert special. One is the hazelnut crust spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon. Also, there is a hint of citrus due to the zest ingredients. Regarding the filling, the liquid blend has a way of bringing out the best of the berries. With notes of orange, rosewater and vanilla bean surrounding the natural sweetness of the berries, the blend is not only unusual but quite tasty.

This recipe makes one 24 cm diameter tart. However, it converted to the 8.25 X 11.25 rectangular tart as well. Plan in advance for the 2 1/2 hr chill time on the pastry.  The instructions below are for a lattice topped tart, but feel free to tinker around with cookie cutters to create a unique looking pastry surface. The cut outs are a lot easier than the lattice.

Also, since this recipe comes from outside the US, a lot of the measurements are by grams. Use the internet to find a converter if you measure by cups.

Strawberry Hazelnut Tart
adapted from the Australian Gourmet Traveler Magazine

Ingredients/Crust
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground cinnamon
150 grams hazelnut flour
250 grams regular flour
175 grams butter, room temperature
150 grams confectioners sugar
zest of one orange
zest of one lemon
3 egg yolks (reserve one egg white for egg wash)

Ingredients/Filling
vanilla bean seeds (scraped from 1 bean)
70 grams of raw caster or demerara sugar
30 grams cornflour
zest and juice of 1/2 orange
3 tsp rosewater
700 grams hulled and chopped strawberries
egg white from above mixed with 1 tsp water.
confectioners sugar for dusting (optiona)

For serving (optional)
cream fraiche
extra chopped strawberries

For the crust, start by sifting together the regular flour, cinnamon, baking powder and nutmeg into a medium size bowl. Then stir in the hazelnut flour. Set aside.

Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with butter, confectioners sugar and both types of zest. Beat mixture until it forms a pale, light batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add each egg yolk, one at a time and beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Then remove bowl from stand mixer and fold in the dry ingredients combined in the first bowl.

Clump together dough and shape into a disc. Cover completely with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 2 hours, firming up the dough.

Once the chilling process is complete, place a rectangle piece of parchment paper on a flat surface and dust with flour. Then remove dough and separate out 2/3 of the mass, placing it on the flat surface. Roll this piece out to a 3mm thick shape. The shape should be the shape of your pan, but exceed the size of the bottom and up the sides. After it is rolled out in the size desired, line your tart tin with the dough. Pressing down all of the dough so it adheres to the shape of the interior sides and bottom. Trim off any excess dough from the top edge. Then take the remaining dough and roll it into a rectangle on the parchment. It should measure about 24 centimeters long. Transfer the parchment paper with the dough to a baking sheet. Place both the dough lined tart tin and the baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

During this above process, create the next component of the tart-the filling. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 355 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the first six items of the listed filling ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Once the dough is finished chilling, fill the tin with the strawberry mixture and smooth out evenly.

Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator. Using a knife, cut the dough into 12 mm thick strips. Use these strips to form a lattice pattern over the strawberry filling. There will be excess dough to trim off from the edges. Lastly, brush the surface of the tart with the egg wash.

Place in oven and bake until golden brown. This should take about 30-55 minutes. Place tin on rack to cool for about 30 minutes. Remove and let tart come to room temperature. How you serve is optional, but some suggestions are dusting with confectioners sugar before slicing. Also, serve with a side of cream fraiche and extra strawberries.

Tips and Notes:
1. If you are in a place where it is humid, it is probably best to serve this dessert right away. With time, the crust loses its crispness. It still has good flavor but does not retain its texture.
                             **Two Years Ago: Hawaiian Loaf**

Chocolate Wine Loaf Cake

Let's face it..there are many flavor matches that include chocolate. I think it is because chocolate is pretty much a universal favorite. Adding chocolate to any baked good rarely gets objected to, so when I came across a recipe that included chocolate wine, I was not really surprised.

Chocolate wine...I found a number of brands of wine with this flavor. Some of the wines looked like coffee while others kept their deep red color. After reading a few labels of different brands, I chose a red wine with natural chocolate flavor-Trentadue Chocolate Amore. The original recipe used a dark red wine called Chocolate Rouge that I was unable to find. Since I did not use it,I cannot comment on the flavor that this particular brand imparts on the cake.

The two things that intrigued me the most about this recipe when I read it was the amount of dutch cocoa and the amount of chocolate wine. For one loaf, it calls for 3/4 cup of wine. This amount does insure that the flavor will remain after baking. The 1/2 cup of cocoa also had me thinking of how rich and dark the chocolate flavor would be.

I was not disappointed. With a moist brownie-like texture and a heavenly flavor of sweet merlot enveloped by rich chocolate flavor, one slice was purely addictive.

This recipe makes 1 chocolate loaf. I used a 9X5 inch pan. The loaf was not that tall, so if I was to make it again, I would opt for something smaller.

Chocolate Wine Loaf Cake
adapted from Heather's French Press 

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate wine
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter 
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup dark/Dutch cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and interior of a loaf pan. Line the bottom and long sides of the loaf pan with parchment paper and butter the surface.

In a small bowl, sift together cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder and only 1 cup of the flour. Set aside.

Fill the bowl of the stand mixer with butter and both sugars. Cream together on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add one egg and beat, stopping at one interval to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat the process with the other egg.

While the mixer is still running, add the vanilla extract and then slowly stream in the wine. Once all is mixed in, turn mixer off and remove bowl. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the dry ingredients. If the batter still seems a little thin, stir in some of the extra flour to thicken.

Spoon into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and rest pan on rack for 15 minutes, then transfer to rack and remove parchment paper. Once completely cool, it is ready to slice and serve.

Tips and notes:
1. After you add the wine, the batter will look real soupy, but the dry ingredients will remedy that.
2. The recipe states bake for 1 hour, but mine only took 45 minutes which could be attributed to the size of the pan. The recipe did not specify pan size.
3. It is normal for the surface of the loaf to crack some while baking. 
4. This has a deep dark chocolate flavor, so some whipped cream would tone it down a bit.
                                   **LAST YEAR:Cannoli Cake Roll**

Danish Butter Cookies

I am sure you are familiar with the Danish butter cookies that come in the blue tin. At one time, I was happy with these little cookies. The tin does contain a variety, but I favored the plain ones.

My love of shortbread or butter cookies is not based on grocery store or the cookies that are mass produced and stuffed inside a cookie tin. It is based on my first homemade shortbread cookies. After taking one bite of the crunchy sweet and buttery morsels, I was hooked. I will no longer even consider the blue tin cookies. It is homemade butter cookies or none and I have no regrets.

While the recipe comes together easily, it is the piping that takes the longest and most effort. Since the dough is thicker than buttercream icing, it does take some muscle to pipe the logs out and then shape into a circle. If you do not want to go through that, an easier method is to use a star nozzle on a meat grinder or cookie press to form them.

In order to achieve the same results, do not substitute or skimp on quality ingredients. I used Kerrygold butter, Madagascar vanilla bean and Bob Mills almond meal.

The recipe below contains weight measurements as well as cup measurements. I used a scale to measure my ingredients to be more exact, however, both measurements were on the original recipe. The measurements below make about 3-3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Danish Butter Cookies
adapted from Nordic Food Living 

Ingredients
7 oz or 3/4 cup plus 1 tbs butter
1 egg
1 vanilla bean
6 oz or 3/4 cup sugar
9 oz or 1 3/4 cup flour
3 oz or 1/2 cup almond meal or 1/2 cup almonds ground into meal

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

Add the sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Take out the vanilla bean and slice open the length of the bean. Open the bean flat and take a paring knife and scrape down the inside of the bean and place the scrapings or seeds into the bowl with the sugar. Continue to scrape until all seeds have been removed and add all to the sugar. Using clean hands, separate the clumps of seeds in the sugar by grinding the sugar together with the seeds.

Once the seeds are evenly distributed into the sugar, add the butter. Cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, scraping down the sides at intervals. Then add the egg and beat for about 30 seconds.

Remove bowl from stand mixer. Using a wooden spoon, fold the almond flour into the batter. Then add 1/2 cup of the regular flour and fold in. Continue with the process, ending with 1/4 cup flour.

Prepare the piping equipment and fill with cookie dough. Press the dough out of the piping mechanism into a 1 1/2- 2 inch circle or 1 1/2-2 inch long log onto the parchment paper. If making logs, shape each into a circle on the cookie sheet. Per the recipe, the dough circles on the sheet should be 1 1/2 inches apart. However, the cookies do not spread or expand much, so 1 inch should suffice.

Place baking sheets in the oven and bake the cookies for 4 minutes and then rotate pan. Bake for another 2-4 minutes or until the cookies have golden edges. Place baking sheet on rack and let cookies rest for about 1 minute, then transfer to rack and let cool completely.

Tips and notes:

1. How toasty you want these cookies to be is up to you, so please adjust your baking time accordingly.
2. Should these cookies be "too" plain, try dipping half in chocolate or sandwiching together with chocolate.
3. For a stronger vanilla taste, infuse the sugar with the seeds a few days prior to baking.
                                           **LAST YEAR: Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies**

Southern Cotillion Peach Cake

After making this cake, I decided to deem it worthy of "high society" by naming it a Cotillion cake. For those that are unaware of the reference, a Cotillion is a formal party or dance that introduces a young girl into society and an opportunity for the father to introduce their daughter to proper suitors. Prior to the party, the girls have attended finishing school for learning social graces. This is something that came about in the South.

Regarding the cake, I believe that any special ocassion cake would need to be white. White makes for a good base to showcase any additional flavors. While you can add other flavors to chocolate, chocolate is not really subtle, so balancing with other flavors is more difficult.

I know you are wondering what makes this cake so special. Tasting it would truly tell you, but since this is in writing I will need to describe. The cake itself has the flavor of peach. The primary flavor  ingredients are peach cream liqueur, freeze dried fruit powder and a touch of almond. The cake is moist, since it is made with oil instead of butter. Between the cake layers is a filling made with peaches and then a layer of buttercream type icing with almond paste. The buttercream icing on the outside is flavored with the liqueur and fruit powder. The outer sides of the cake has slivered almonds pressed into the icing.

At the end of the post, you will find useful tips when making this cake as well as all other layer cakes. As with any recipe, careful evaluation is needed, because opinions vary on flavor and texture. The one thing I wanted to bring up is the almond paste-type filling. Almond paste does not break down smooth when mixing. This means that the filling imparts a nutty type texture which goes good with the fruit. However, should you want something smoother, you are welcome to use just regular buttercream and flavor it with almond extract.

Southern Cotillion Peach Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Cake
4 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
1/4 cup sparkling white wine
3/4 cup peach liqueur
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs peach fruit powder
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour 
2 cups sugar

Ingredients/2 kinds of filling
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
3 cups peeled diced peaches (fresh or thawed & drained frozen)
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp water
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter
6-7 oz almond paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup peach liqueur
2 tsp fruit powder

Ingredients/Icing
3 or more cups of buttercream icing
2 tbs peach liqueur
1 tbs fruit powder
1 1/2-2 cups slivered almonds (if desired)

Prepare two 9 inch cake pans by greasing the interior with butter and then lining the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the face up side of the parchment paper and then dust the interior of the pans with flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

The peach filling will need to be made first, since it has to chill before use. Fill a small saucepan with brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups of diced peaches and lemon juice. Place saucepan over medium high heat and stir together. Let mixture come to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Pour the filling into a blender and puree. Fill the same saucepan with the puree and add the remining fruit. Place over heat and let simmer again for about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Then pour into the peach mixture. Let cook on low, stirring until thickened.  Pour into a heat proof bowl and place in fridge to chill. 

Now it is time to make the cake layers. Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with the eggs and sugar. Beat until well blended. Remove bowl from mixer and add the oil, champagne, peach liqueur and almond extract and stir together. In another bowl, sift together the flour, fruit powder, salt and baking powder. Fold the sifted ingredients into the liquid. Then place the bowl back into the stand mixer and beat at low speed until no lumps remain, about 1 minute.

Pour batter evenly into the two pans. Bake until the top is golden or a tester comes out clean. This should take about 35-40 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on a rack for about 10 minutes. Invert and let cool another 10 minutes and remove parchment paper.

For the nutty filling, grate the almond paste into a bowl using a cheese grater and set aside. Then fill the bowl of a stand mixer with confectioners sugar and butter. Beat until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the grated almond paste and salt. Beat on low for 30 seconds then on medium high for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and beat for 1 minute more. Chill until ready to use. Take out a small bowl and then mix the fruit powder with the peach liqueur and set aside.

For the icing, mix together fruit powder and liquer in a small bowl. Then make your standard butter cream icing. Then pour peach flavor mixture into icing and beat until evenly distributed. Add additional confectioners sugar to reach desired thickness. Chill until ready to use.

Once the cake layers are completely cool, they are ready to be assembled into a delicious cake. Choose which of the layers you will be using for the bottom. Brush the top surface of the bottom layer with 1/2 of the fruit powder/liqueur blend. Then do the same on the other layer, this time on the bottom side of the top layer. Let mixture soak in for about 10 minutes. Place one layer in the center of a cake board or cake plate.

Take out the chilled peach filling and smooth it over the top surface of the cake, being careful to leave a small border around the edge. Then carefully smooth the nutty filling over the peach filling. Stack the top layer on top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour.

Once chilling time is over, remove cake and frost as desired. If desired, press slivered almonds into sides of cake by the handful.

Tips and Notes:

1. Soaking a top cake layer on the bottom side instead of top insures that the icing on the top will be easy to spread. If your cake is wet on top, it makes for a slippery layer and is very difficult to ice.

2. Always measure your batter to insure even layers. "Eyeballing" it lends itself to uneven cake layers.

3. Invest in cake strips to go around your pans when baking so they will bake evenly and not be domed on top.

4. Fruit powder can be hard to find. However, I found packaged freeze dried slices of peaches that were called "fruit crisps." They are perfect for grinding into powder. Do not make the mistake of buying just dried fruit-the consistency is too gummy.

5. Chilling the two layers together with the filling helps prior to icing to stabilize the layers.This is good to do with any cake that has a filling different from thick buttercream.

6. This recipe was made with fresh Florida peaches. It has not been tested with frozen peaches, which may have excess water so more of the cornstarch/water mixture may be needed. You may need to experiment a bit when using frozen peaches.
                                    **LAST YEAR:Raspberry Picnic Pie**

Hawaiian Breakfast Rolls

This is a great spin off recipe from the original cinnamon rolls.  Instead of cinnamon and pecans or raisins, these rolls have a delicious filling of coconut and ground macadamia nuts rolled up into a sweet dough. The extra zing is the icing on top that can be flavored with coconut or pineapple extract.

The alterations I did on this recipe was to use pineapple coconut juice in the dough instead of milk. Also, I brushed it on the dough prior to layering the filling. The end result was that it added more of a tropical flavor to the filling, but did little to flavor the actual dough. Also, I found that the filling develops more flavor with time, so these rolls were better the day after baked. I used an unsweetened organic juice, so using something like "Coco Lopez" may offer more strength in the flavor category.

These do look like they take a lot of time, but the looks are deceiving. The two "time consumers" are grinding the nuts and the rise time. There is only 1 rise time (1- 1/12 hrs) and no kneading of the dough. I ground my nuts in a blender and they turned fine but not into nut butter (see sprinkled nuts on top of the rolls above). This recipe makes about 1 dz rolls.

Hawaiian Breakfast Rolls
adapted from Fleischmann's Yeast

Ingredients/Dough Roll
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup scalded milk (cooled to lukewarm) or lukewarm coconut/pineapple juice
1 egg
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 package yeast

Ingredients/Filling
zest of 1 orange
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup flaked coconut
2/3 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
2 tbs melted butter
2 tbs coconut pineapple juice (optional)

Ingredients/Icing
2 tsp honey
2 tbs softened butter
3 tbs milk or juice
1 tsp coconut or pineapple extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup ground macadamia nuts (optional)
pinch of salt

Start on the dough by sprinkling yeast into the bowl of warm water. Then fill the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar, salt, juice or milk and shortening. Beat on low for about 15 seconds. Stir the bowl of yeast and then pour into the sugar/shortening mixture. Add the egg and 1/2 cup of flour.  Beat on low again until blended. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the flour in half cup increments until all is incorporated into the dough.

Grease the interior of a small bowl. Form the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl. Lightly cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This should take 1-1 1/2 hours if you are using regular yeast (rapid rise would naturally be faster).

While the dough is rising, you will make the filling. Measure out the juice and melt the butter. Set aside. Then whisk together all the other filling ingredients.

After the dough has risen, prepare one 11.5 x 14 inch pan by greasing the interior. Also, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then dust a flat surface lightly with flour. Roll out the dough onto the flat surface into a large rectangle, measuring 11x14 inches.

Brush the surface of the dough with the pineapple coconut juice (optional). Then brush on the melted butter. Sprinkle all of the filling evenly on top of the dough and press down lightly to adhere. Starting from one of the longest sides, roll the dough tightly and evenly in a jelly roll fashion. Pinch seam together and flatten. Fold each end under and pinch/flatten the seams.

Using a serrated knife, cut jelly roll into 12 even slices and place inside prepared baking pan.  Put pan in the oven and bake until golden brown and toasty on top, about 20-30 minutes. Remove and set pan on rack to cool.

While rolls are baking, prepare the icing. Add milk or juice, honey, softened butter and extract to small bowl. Beat until the butter is broken up. Sift in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and beat again until smooth. Continue with the process until all powdered sugar is incorporated into the icing.

Once rolls cool to lukewarm, spread the icing on top of each, smoothing out. Then sprinkle with ground macadamia nuts.

Tips and Notes:

1. Make sure you give the filling a chance to soak up the juice and butter that was brushed on the dough. You do not want a lot of liquid flowing out when cooking and too much liquid keeps the dough from rolling tightly.

2. Instead of the sprinkle of nuts on the top,try mixing drained pineapple chunks and/or ground nuts into the icing.
                                   **LAST YEAR:Charlevoix Cookies**

Banana French Toast Muffins

Let's face it, banana-nut anything is always a welcome treat. However, it is very difficult to achieve a cake like quality when using them in baking. That is why I refer to these as muffins instead of cupcakes. They are not as dense as banana bread, but they do not have the lightness of cupcakes either.

Is this just a lighter banana bread in muffin form? In some ways yes and some ways no. Included in the muffin is chunks of candied walnuts. Like French toast, the maple flavor is on top. Swirled with a mixture of maple flavored cream cheese frosting, the flavor pairing of these muffins is quite tasty. Biting into one of these treats is just a great way to start the day or perk you up in the afternoon.

Also, I know that candied nuts can be quite expensive. In this recipe is a very simple and easy way to make them. If you are not into the whole muffin thing, the sweet nuts make a great snack-so read on...

This recipe makes about 2 dz muffins.

Banana French Toast Muffins
adapted from Wilton

Ingredients/Muffins
1 3/4 cup mashed bananas
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tbs maple syrup
3 eggs
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter (cut into 1/4 inch cubes)
2 3/4 cup of flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Ingredients/Topping
1/4 tsp maple extract
3 cups confectioners sugar
8 oz package of cream cheese (room temp)
4 oz or 1 stick of butter
24 whole walnuts
1/4 cup of maple syrup

To start, you will make 2 batches of the candied nuts. Pour the chopped nuts into a saucepan set over low heat. Let the nuts cook until toasty, stirring at random intervals. After about 5 minutes, the nuts will be done. Pour in the 2 tbs of maple syrup and mix with the nuts. As the syrup cooks it becomes more solid, looking somewhat like praline candy. Once the liquid syrup becomes solid, remove from heat and transfer coated nuts to a bowl. Set bowl aside.

For the whole nuts, lay a piece of parchment paper on a flat surface. Follow the same coating process as noted above, this time using 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Due to the higher amount of syrup, the cook time will take longer. Once coated and solid, remove each walnut from the pan and lay on parchment paper, spacing apart.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and fill the cavities of a muffin tin with paper liners.

Prepare the batter by filling the bowl of a stand mixer with both types of sugar and drop in butter cubes. Cream together with the paddle attachment, beating for about 2 minutes and stopping at intervals to scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

Pour in the vanilla extract and add one egg. Mix together for about 30 seconds, with mixer on medium speed. Add each additional egg, blending after each addition. Then pour in the mashed bananas and mix on medium until just incorporated into batter. Remove bowl from mixer.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Fold in 1/3 of the sifted ingredients into the banana batter, using a wooden spoon. Add 1/2 of the sour cream, then stir to blend.  Repeat the process, ending with the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Then mix in the candied chopped walnuts.

Using a spoon or a scoop, fill the cavities of the prepared muffin tin with the batter. Fill approximately 2/3 full.

Put pans in oven and bake until tester comes out clean. Bake time is about 20-25 minutes, so rotate pans at the halfway point. Remove pans and let rest about 2 minutes. Then transfer to rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting/icing, start by beating the cream cheese with the butter until it is silky and smooth. Then beat in the maple extract until distributed throughout the frosting. Sift in 1 cup of confectioner's sugar and beat into the cream cheese/butter mixture. Repeat the process until all confectioner's sugar is blended in.

Once muffins have cooled, ice with frosting as desired and top with candied walnut.

Tips and Notes:

1. This frosting recipe had an error which I corrected above. It did not have butter listed as an ingredient but listed 2-8 oz packages of cream cheese. I followed the recipe, resulting in a quite tangy frosting. Cream cheese frosting I have seen with an equal ratio of butter to cream cheese and 1/2 the amount of butter to cream cheese. I would chose the ratio of 1/2 to one, but either way you only need one 8 oz package of cream cheese.

2. A note on the cute squares: I used a heavy duty, non stick square cavity baking pan. After researching, I read that the square liners have a tendency to fold into the muffins when baked. However, the round liners expand to fit the square. So, if you use the square cavity pan, skip buying the square liners.

3. The candied nut coating can be as thin or thick as you like. I much preferred the thicker, so you may want to use more maple syrup in the pan when using the chopped nuts. Keep in mind that with more syrup, the nuts have a tendency to clump together.

4. How ripe the bananas you use is personal preference. The more ripe the banana, the stronger the flavor. Also, be sure to use a fork and mash the bananas. This method gives the muffins a more pop of banana flavor than adding pureed bananas.
                                   **TWO YEARS AGO: Black Walnut Madeira Cake 

Citrus Ginger Cookies

At this time, I find myself in a foodie dilemma. I am still drawn to the winter/fall type of recipes. I realize that there is less appeal when things are made out of season, so I should be focusing on the spring and summer recipes.

These particular "S" shaped cookies have helped out the situation. One type of dough is flavored with lemon and orange zest, which equates to tastes of the spring/summer. The other dough is a myriad of spices and some molasses, flavors of fall and winter.

The texture of the cookie reminds me of spritz, except they are not as crisp. The wonderful mix of the complimentary flavors is memorable and unique. As you bite into one of these, the heavy spices strike your taste buds only to have a chaser of citrus to tone it down. This delicious combo rolled together in a cookie makes them perfect for coffee or tea. In addition, they are pleasing to the eye, which makes a lot of people reach for them when served.

This recipe makes about 3-3 1/2 dz cookies.

Citrus Ginger Cookies
adapted from Gold Medal Cookie Contest 

Ingredients
1/3 cup milk
2 egg yolks (beaten together)
1/4 cup molasses
2 tsp vanilla extract 
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter, room temp
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
2 pinches of nutmeg
2 pinches of cayenne
1 cup sugar
3 cups flour and 2 tbs flour (reserved separate)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Place butter inside the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat again another 2 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and milk. Beat until mixture is thoroughly combined, it will result in a curdled-looking batter.

Take out another bowl and sift together 3 cups of flour, baking powder and salt. Add the sifted mixture in 1/2 cup increments to the butter/sugar batter, beating on low after each addition. Once the sifted ingredients are incorporated into the batter, divide batter in half. Each half should be about 2 cups each.

Remove one half of the dough from the mixing bowl and set aside. Add both types of zest and vanilla extract to the remaining dough in the mixing bowl. Blend on medium speed for about 1 minute to distribute the additions throughout the dough. Shape into 2 even sized balls and cover dough with plastic wrap and set aside.

Clean the mixing bowl and then place the other half of the plain dough inside. Add remaining ingredients (spices, molasses and 2 tbs flour) and mix on low until the add-ins are evenly distributed into the dough. Shape the dough into 2 balls of the same size (like the other) and cover with plastic wrap. Place all 4 of the wrapped dough balls on a plate and put in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

Prepare a flat surface by covering with parchment paper. After chilling time is complete, remove one ball of the citrus dough. Place it on the parchment paper and cover with another piece of parchment. Roll dough out to form a a 9x6 rectangle. Do the same with one ball of the spice dough. Lift top piece of parchment off of both rectangles and stack one on top of the other, so all edges of the dough are flush with each other. Press or roll lightly to adhere the layers together.

Place the dough so the narrow ends are at the top and bottom and long edges left to right on the flat surface. Then, form part of a roll by using the parchment paper to help. Roll from the narrow edge over the top of the rest of the dough, stopping at the halfway point. Carefully flip the dough over, with the unrolled narrow edge at the bottom. Again, roll from the narrow edge over the top of the dough and stop, meeting at the same point as the rolled under portion of the dough (just on the backside). The end result will be a spiral log that is "S" shaped. Cover with parchment and place in refrigerator.  Repeat the same process with the remaining 2 rounds of dough.

Let both logs of dough chill for a minimum of 1 hour. 15 minutes prior to completing the dough chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

At the time the dough has chilled for 1 hour and the oven is preheated, remove one batch/ one log from the refrigerator. Slice the log into 1/4 inch-thick pieces and place each piece on prepared baking sheet. There are about 16-18 slices per log and each piece should be spaced about 1-1/2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Place in oven and bake 8-12 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies have a light, golden hue. Transfer to rack to cool. Repeat the same process of slicing and baking with the remaining dough log.

Tips and Notes:

1. The spices were distributed evenly in the dough. However, the citrus zest may distribute better if the mixture is divided prior to adding the sifted ingredients. It is more liquid at that time and it keeps you from over-working the dough. Also, fresh zest has a tendency to cling together.

2. You may use a little flour in order to roll out the dough, but dampen the surface of the dough before you stack the other layer on top. A damp surface will keep the layers of dough from splitting when baking.
                                   **LAST YEAR: Chocolate Banana Muffins**

Sawdust Pie

I have to admit, the name of this pie is not very appealing. I guess it got its name from the graham cracker crumbs used as an ingredient. The other theory is that someone wanted to keep the pie for themselves, hoping that the name would keep people from eating it!

This pie is very simple to make and has only basic ingredients, so I am surprised that it is unfamiliar to most people. The filling is held together with a blend of graham cracker crumbs and egg whites. For flavor, the recipe includes sweetened coconut and toasted pecans. It actually belongs in its own pie category because of the unique chewy texture.

Unlike most pies, the thick filling enables the pie to be shipped without falling apart. To ship, bake the pie in a disposable aluminum pan. After it has baked and cooled, slice the pie the night before and wrap in foil. Freeze until next day and then pack in a box, making sure it is well cushioned. Then you can ship to any college student or your favorite someone with a sweet tooth.

Sawdust Pie
adapted from Pie, 300 Tried and True Recipes

Ingredients
1 refrigerated pie crust (your preferred single crust recipe)
1 1/2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
7 egg whites
1 1/2 cups toasted,chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

After you have made the pie dough, shape into a flat disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of an hour and up to overnight.

Once the chilling time is complete, prepare a flat surface by dusting with flour. Remove the dough disc from the fridge and unwrap. Roll out on the prepared surface, forming a 12 inch inch circle. Then curl the flattened dough loosely around a rolling pin and unroll over a 9 inch standard pie pan. Press and shape the dough so it is even and flush with the interior of the pan. Tuck top edges under and form the edge as desired (scalloped, fork pressed..etc). Then place in freezer for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Fill a large bowl with egg whites and both sugars and stir, making sure all is evenly combined. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until batter comes together, with a good distribution of pecans and coconut.

Empty the bowl of pie filling in the chilled crust. Smooth with a spatula until even. Place pie in oven and bake for 25 minutes. Rotate the pie, moving front to back. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden.

Let cool on a wire rack. It is good served warm or at room temperature. Now you get the real meaning of "easy as pie!"

Tips and Notes:

1. For an extra zing of flavor, there are many ways to top this pie prior to serving. Some of the suggestions are: drizzled melted dark chocolate, whipped cream and sliced bananas, ice cream and caramel...and the list goes on..

2. Take caution when blending the filling. The more you mix, the stiffer it becomes. The intention is to have a spreadable filling.

3. There is a recipe variation that uses no brown sugar and straight white sugar. I feel that the use of brown sugar creates a more golden hue to the filling when baked. Also, brown sugar is a standard flavor pairing with pecans.
                                   **LAST YEAR: Honey Bunny Crunch Frozen Custard** 

Meyer Lemonade Cake

Citrus fruits really do remind me of spring and summer. I definitely have spring fever! Luckily I have a window at work, since it is getting more difficult to stay inside.

Lime and lemon are my favorite citrus flavors.  However, with the introduction of the Meyer lemons, I am more apt to use these in baking instead of regular lemons.  Since they are the result of a cross between lemons and oranges, the lemon flavor is less acidic but still prevailing. This recipes uses around 6-8 lemons. That worked out well, since Meyer lemons are sold by the bag around here.

This cake is a perfect way to brighten up your day. I changed the recipe a little to make the lemon flavor stronger in the cake. With zest in the batter and a soaker on top with candied lemon peel, it really packs a lot of luscious lemon flavor in every bite.  The cake part is reminiscent of the texture that you find in a pineapple upside down cake.

This recipe makes 2 single layer, 8 inch cakes. One for you and yours and one for the neighbors or co-workers.

Meyer Lemonade Cake
adapted from Serious Eats website

Ingredients/Cake and Soaker
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter
8 oz  plain yogurt
4 eggs
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbs lemon zest (takes about 2-3 lemons)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup candied lemon peel (takes about 4 or 5 lemons, recipe below)
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Ingredients/ Candied Peel
4-5 lemons
1 cup water
2 tbs corn syrup
1 cup sugar

The first step will be making the candied peel. Set up 2 pots full of water and a bowl or sink full of ice water. Also, have a strainer close at hand.

Place both pots of water over high heat. As you wait for the water to boil, take the lemons and peel off strips, using a potato peeler running it down the length of the lemon. Take care to get as little of the pith as possible. After all lemons are peeled, slice the peelings into thin strips.

The next process is to blanch the lemon strips. The blanching will be done three times. Put the strips in the first boiling pot of water and let boil for 20 seconds. Remove pot from heat and pour into a strainer. Then take strainer of strips and submerge in ice bath, just deep enough to cover and cool the strips. Take empty pot and refill with water. Place over high heat and let come to a boil. As it heats up, follow the same blanching process using the boiling water in the second pot and the recently heated water in the first pot. Leave strips in strainer.

For the candy syrup, put sugar, corn syrup and water in a pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally, letting mixture come to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Add blanched lemon strips.

Correct the temperature of the liquid to a simmer mode, liquid should have occasional bubbles. Cook at this temperature for about 20 minutes. Liquid will be thicker and lemon peels will start to curl. Remove from heat. Let cool completely before using.

For the cake, prepare two 8 inch round cake pans by greasing the interior and lining with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using a stand mixer, cream together butter and only 2 cups of the sugar until mixture takes on a much lighter texture. This should take about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating into butter/ sugar blend for about 30 seconds. Repeat the same process with each egg, until all are blended in. Sprinkle in zest and beat for another 30 second. Mix in the vanilla extract. Set aside.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix the sifted ingredients into the batter in 3 stages, alternating with the yogurt. The start of the process as well as the end will be with blending in the dry ingredients.

Lastly, stir in only 1/2 cup of the lemon juice until completely blended into the batter. Divide batter equally and empty into each prepared pan. Place in oven and let bake for about 20 minutes and rotate pans then bake for an additional 20 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back when lightly touched in the center and turns a golden hue or use a toothpick to check if done. Remove pans and place on rack. Let cakes cool in pans 20 minutes.

As cakes cool, make the soaker by filling a pot with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of juice. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved , remove from heat. Brush mixture over cooled cakes. Let the cakes remain in the pan for another 10 minutes.
Invert the cakes onto a rack covered in wax paper and quickly invert again so drizzled side is face up. and cakes have cooled for 20 minutes. Then garnish with candied peel.



Tips and Notes:
1. The cakes are very sticky so springform pans would insure the appearance of the surface,removing the cakes prior to soaking is a good idea.

2. The soaker has too much syrup compared to the actual peels, so cutting the liquid ingredients  in half would be better.
HAPPY EASTER!!
                            **LAST YEAR: Havana Cupcakes**

Chocoberry Cupcakes

Like most bloggers, it is hard for me to make something "plain", especially when it comes to cupcakes. I cannot remember the last time I made a cupcake that was just one flavor. Since the opportunity is there to combine flavors, I take full advantage of it.

Take these cupcakes, for instance. They are a double-decker of chocolate and strawberry flavors, in the cake part as well as the icing. Fruit, due to their acidity, do not make a good addition to cake batters. Unless I am making a bread or fruit like cake- I never use fresh fruit in cake batters. Imitation fruit flavor is also something I try to refrain from.

In order to get a good fruit flavor, there are 2 choices. You can either use dried fruit powder or natural extract. For these cupcakes I used natural extract, Olive Nation brand. Regarding the chocolate, there are many brands to choose from...., Valrhona, Ghirardelli, Callebaut..etc. As usual, quality ingredients mean quality taste.

The cupcakes are moist and airy, and deliver that chocolate covered strawberry flavor that we all love. The topping is a repeat of the same flavors-just a bit stronger and sweeter. The chocolate ganache swirled with strawberry icing adds the right touch of sweetness to the cupcake. Since it is lighter than regular buttercream icing, the cake flavor stands out more.

This recipe makes about 24-28 cupcakes.

ChocoBerry Cupcakes
by Flourtrader

Ingredients/Cupcakes
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 egg whites, room temp
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 oz melted and cooled bittersweet chocolate
2 tsp strawberry extract
red food coloring ( optional if you want a pink tint)

Ingredients/Topping
1 cup plus 2 tsp heavy cream
1 tbs butter
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into pea sized chunks
1 tsp strawberry extract
1 cup confectioners sugar
milk (measurement based on desired consistency)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the top edge of muffin tins and line the cavities with baking cups.

Start on the cupcakes by filling a medium bowl with the butter.  Beat, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla.  Blend the mixture on low speed until evenly distributed. Set aside.

Using another medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

Then pour 1/4 of the egg whites into the sugar butter mixture and beat for 30 seconds. Repeat this process until all egg whites are incorporated into the batter. After this, you will blend in 1/3 of the sifted ingredients, running the mixer on low speed. Then pour 2/3 cup of buttermilk into the batter and beat on low. Follow the same stages with the sifted ingredients and buttermilk, ending with the the dry ingredients folded into into the batter.

At this time, measure out half of the batter and put into a clean bowl. Using 1/2 of the batter, mix in the melted chocolate until evenly blended. For the other half of the batter, add 2 tsp strawberry extract or dried fruit powder and stir. If desired, mix in a few drops of red food coloring until the pink hue meets your expectations.

Take out 2 scoops for spooning the batter into the cupcake cavities. Use one scoop for the chocolate and one for the strawberry batter. You can spoon the chocolate batter on the bottom and strawberry on top, like I did or do side by side batters, whichever you prefer. The cavities should be filled to the 2/3 mark, with an even distrubution of strawberry to chocolate batter.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean.  Remove and place pan on rack for 5 minutes and then transfer cupcakes to rack to finish cooling.

To make the chocolate ganache, place chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl with a wide bottom, I used a pasta bowl. Spread the chunks out to a even layer on the bottom of the bowl.Then, place a saucepan over medium high heat and pour in heavy cream and add butter. Cook until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil. Once boiling, remove and pour over chocolate chunks. Let sit undisturbed for about 5 minutes and then stir mixture is smooth.

At this point, you can dip the tops of the cupcakes into the chocolate. Make sure that you take time to let the chocolate drip off before standing upright and that the cupcake paper does not get any chocolate on it. Once all the cupcakes are covered with the ganache, then start on making the strawberry swirl.

Sift confectioners sugar into a medium size bowl. Add 1 tsp strawberry extract or dried strawberry powder and 1 tbs of milk. Whisk until a smooth icing is formed and stir in a few drops of red food coloring (if desired). Continue to work to achieve a piping consistency to the icing, either by adding more confectioners sugar or more milk. Once the consistency is right, fill a piping bag and pipe a decorative line or swirl on top of the cakes.

Let stand at room temperature for about an hour before serving or storing so topping will set.

Tips and Notes:

1. Due to the egg whites and the baking soda/powder, act quickly when creating the separate batter and spooning into the cavities.  My two layers came out with some air between the two when baked.

2. The thickness of the ganache is a personal preference, so how much liquid you use can be altered. However, bear in mind that you want to "dip" the tops, not have to use a knife to cover the cupcakes.
                                             **LAST YEAR: Alfredo Bread**

Bajan Sweet Bread

This particular recipe I found tasty and interesting. Some of the instructions were a little vague, but I would like to think that it was due to the fact the person made this hundreds of times since it is a traditional recipe. Based on that, I have changed up the method as well as the ingredient list to help improve upon the recipe.

One of the things I am aware of when creating any kind of dough is that texture can be altered by how much you work with the dough. Over working dough can change cut out cookies from crisp to tough. Regarding this particular bread, if not kneaded it is very crumbly. The more you knead it, the firmer it becomes.

My loaf resulted in a crumbly texture, however, it had a wonderful flavor. The combo of brown sugar, nutmeg and coconut is worth trying and is sure to be remembered after you take one bite.

Before we get started, note that this recipe makes three 8 inch loaves.

Bajan Sweet Bread
adapted from Just Bajan

Ingredients/Bread
1 grated coconut or 3 cups unsweetened coconut
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups butter
1/4 cup shortening
4 cups or 2 lbs self rising flour
2 cups or 1 lb brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped nuts or chopped glace cherries or raisins (optional)

Ingredients/Filling
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
2 tbs water

Grease the interior of 3 loaf pans and line 2 sides and bottom with parchment paper, leaving overhang on the sides.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start by making the filling. Fill a saucepan with sugar, coconut extract and water and place over medium heat. Add the coconut and stir. Let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. This is in order to make the coconut more tender. Remove from heat and let cool. 

The next step in making the bread is to cream the butter and shortening together in a large bowl.  Once smooth, beat in the brown sugar, scraping down sides occasionally, until completely blended into the butter mixture.

Fill a small bowl with the milk and stir in the vanilla. Also, using a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt and nutmeg together.

 Using a wooden spoon, mix in one cup of the sifted ingredients into the sugar/butter mixture. Then blend in 1/2 of the liquid. Next, mix in 2 cups of the flour. Add the rest of the liquid and fold in until no liquid remains. Pour in the remaining sifted ingredients and blend until all binds with the dough. Lastly, if you are using the add in options of nuts or fruit, fold into the dough. The dough will be heavy, like cookie dough, so you may choose to mix with clean hands.

At this point, you will need to decide if you want a firm type of bread or crumbly. The recipe recommends kneading it for about 2-3 minutes.

Then divide dough into 6 even pieces. Place 1 piece in the bottom of each prepared pan and smooth out evenly, making a bottom layer. After each loaf pan contains a bottom layer of dough, empty saucepan of coconut filling into a sieve and drain off any liquid. Divide the filling into 3 equal amounts and spoon an equal amount of filling in a thin line, lengthwise, down the center of the dough. Then put remaining dough on top, smoothing out evenly.

Bake for about 30-45 minutes until the center comes out clean.

Tips and Notes:

1. The dough was very heavy to work with, not like regular dough. If there was to be a next time on this recipe, I would experiment by making the dough into cake-like cookies instead of loaf bread.

2. I love coconut so I doubled the filling ingredients. If you choose to do this, be aware that it may cause some sinking in the middle.

3. I did knead the dough to keep it from being crumbly and it did not help. Perhaps adding more liquid would be beneficial. This recipe just said add liquid until dough is formed. There were not any measurements given, it was not even listed on the ingredient list. The recipe however states use milk, coconut water or regular water.
                                **LAST YEAR: Celtic Celebration Cake**                                  

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Eating or even smelling foods can bring you back to a certain memory or place in time. To most people, homemade cookies remind them of their childhood. Back then, our palates craved the simple flavors. We were not quite ready for Chili Chocolate Macarons and mom was not about to spend a lot of long hours in the kitchen making cookies.

Of course, the cookies that were in the cookie jar were drop cookies. We all know they are about the easiest cookies to make. They may be easy, but these type of cookies are traditional favorites, such as chocolate chip or oatmeal. This particular recipe is a delicious blend of two classic kind of cookies: chocolate chip oatmeal and peanut butter.

They are not heavy on the oatmeal like a standard oatmeal cookie, but the end result is a good balance between both textures and flavor. Also, they stand up well when shipped or dunked in a glass of ice cold milk.

The instructions below are for about 4 dozen cookies. Enough to spread around or to store for later, depending on the size of your family.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from The Ultimate Cookie Book

Ingredients
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups oats (old fashioned)
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup chopped milk chocolate bar or chips
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with peanut butter and butter. Beat until fluffy and smooth. Scrape down the sides and add the brown sugar and continue to beat until thoroughly blended.

Add both eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture. Then mix at medium speed for about 1 minute. After blended, beat in 1/2 cup of sifted ingredients and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue with the process until all the dry blend is incorporated into the cookie dough. Remove bowl from stand mixer.

Using a wooden spoon, mix in the oats and then the milk chocolate chips/chunks. Using a scoop or a spoon, drop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Space about 2 inches apart.  Place in oven and bake until edges of cookies are golden brown, which is about 10-12 minutes.

After you remove them from the oven, place baking sheet on rack to let rest for 1 minute. Then transfer cookies to cooling rack and let cool completely.

Tips and Notes:
1. I use parchment to preserve my cookie sheets, however, this recipe states use un-greased baking sheets-so either is an option.

2. Natural peanut butter can be used, however, it does not have a stabilizer to keep the oil from separating. Therefore, it will need to be well blended before adding it as an ingredient.
                                     **LAST YEAR:Pineapple Macadamia Tart**

 

Cherry Almond Cobblestone Muffins

This recipe is actually a spin off of the original Monkey Bread recipes that showed up in women's magazines in the 1950's. While it is popular in the US still, it never seemed to take off globally.  If you are not familiar with this delicious treat, it is basically bread made up of round dough pieces that are dipped in butter and rolled in sugar. If you are not into sweets, you can easily change it to savory by using garlic butter and cheese.

The idea of converting a large Monkey bread coffeecake into individual servings using a jumbo muffin pan is a very smart and tasty way to go when you have a large gathering. The other thing that I liked about this recipe was that it rounded out things by adding fruit.

I tweaked the recipe a little by developing my own flavor combination. Originally, the fruit was to be a mix of apples and raisins. Instead of that, I used cherries soaked in amaretto and added some almond with extract, paste and flour.

My taste testers were very pleased with the results. These jumbo muffins have the trademark of Monkey Bread with their caramel chewy coating of the brown sugar/butter mixture. In addition, you have the a subtle hit of almond in the dough. The almond does become more prominent when you taste the filling of almond paste which mingles deliciously with the amaretto spiked dried cherries.

The recipe below is not the original, but my version. It makes about 2 dozen jumbo muffins, depending on the size of the pieces of dough.

Cherry Almond Cobblestone Muffins
adapted from Panera Bread at Home

Ingredients/Bread
8 cups of flour
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of almond extract
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter, melted
2 cups lukewarm milk
2 tablespoons of yeast

Ingredients/Coating
2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup almond flour or ground almonds
1/2 cup butter, melted

Ingredients/Filling and Topping
1 cup of sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
milk (enough for desired consistency of icing)
2- 7oz packages of dried cherries
1-7 oz package of almond paste
1/4 cup amaretto
water (enough to cover dried cherries)

4 hours prior to starting on these muffins, empty the dried cherries into a bowl with a wide bottom, like a pasta bowl. Add cherries and amaretto. Mix in enough water so the cherries are covered. Set aside.

After the 4 hours has expired, fill the bowl of a stand mixer with eggs, sugar and salt. Beat until thoroughly combined. Pull out a small bowl and combine the almond extract, butter and milk. Pour the almond/butter mixture into the egg/sugar batter and mix together.

Running the mixer at low speed, slowly add one cup of flour. Once blended, add an additional cup and continue with the process, one cup at a time until 4 cups of flour is mixed into the dough. Sprinkle the yeast on top and mix on low speed for about 1 minute. Add the additional cups of flour, using the same method as the first 4 cups. Form dough into a ball.

Oil the interior of a large bowl and empty dough into bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the top edge of the muffin cavities and line with jumbo muffin papers.

While the dough is rising, drain the liquid from the cherries. Then, take the almond paste and form into several little pebbles and place in a bowl. There should be about 10-12 pebbles per muffin. Set both aside.

At this time, you can make the coating by mixing the brown sugar and almond flour together.

Once the dough has doubled, punch down and form into balls. As you form them, consider that it will take 8 balls to make one muffin. After all the dough balls are made, dip each into melted butter and roll in brown sugar/almond flour. Work quickly, you do not want the surface of the dough to dry out.

To assemble the muffins, start by making the bottom layer. Place 4 dough balls into the bottom of the muffin cavity, all the sides should be touching, none should be stacking. Then, take about 8-10 dried cherries and press lightly into the top of the dough. Repeat this process with about 5 or six pebbles of almond paste. After this, do another layer on top with dough, paste and cherries. For the top layer, it is best that the cherries and almond pebbles are more towards the center of the dough. The muffins will rise and you want the cherries on the muffin not on the pan or bottom of oven.

After all cavities are filled, bake muffins for about 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan and transfer to cooling rack. Mix up the topping by combining extract, sifted powdered sugar and milk. Add enough milk to desired consistency and drizzle on to cooled muffins.

Tips and Notes:
1. If you only have 1-12 cavity or 1-6 cavity muffin pan, make only half a batch since this is a yeast bread. You do not want it sitting a long time between baking batches.

2. Due to the way in which these muffins are formed, they are made to eat by plucking off each ball and popping it into your mouth, not by cutting with a fork or taking a bite out of the muffin like you normally would. The dough balls adhere lightly to each other due to the butter/brown sugar mix.

3. If I did this again, I would try to put the dried cherries and almond pebbles into the ball of dough. This way the filling is inside. The adhesion of the filling with the dough balls were not as much as I wanted in the above recipe.

4. You made need to make more coating, depending on how much you want on each dough ball. Not difficult to mix up and better to be in a situation making more than having way to much.

5. You will find that the dough is sticky when forming the dough balls. That is to be expected.

6. The muffin papers do not adhere to the muffins, so they are served without papers. The use of them was only to make clean up easier and keep the brown sugar mixture from getting too hard on the outside.
                           **LAST YEAR: Butternut Maple Blondies**